


Mistletoe

by dragonwings948



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Gallifrey (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, Mistletoe, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: Ace surprises Leela and Narvin with mistletoe, but things don't quite follow her simple plan.
Relationships: Leela (Doctor Who)/Narvin (Doctor Who)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyofLothal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofLothal/gifts).



> This is your fault XD
> 
> Merry Christmas, everyone! :D

Leela walked up to Narvin's office and leaned against the doorframe. He didn't look up, as he was mumbling to himself and fretting over a datapad on his desk, so Leela took a moment to study him. She examined the set of his jaw, the moving of his lips as he mouthed silently to himself, the way the fingers of one hand drummed a rapid rhythm on his desk.

It was interesting to see him in his element, fighting on his own unique battlefield. For Leela, day to day life was about seeing beauty, engaging in conflict, learning about people. To Narvin, it was studying, staying still and learning everything about a situation before he moved.

She wondered for a moment what it would be like to sit in an office all day, pore over datapads, and occasionally train new CIA agents. Narvin complained about it all, but Leela knew he liked the monotony of it. During Pandora’s war and throughout their hunt for a new Gallifrey, he had constantly been on edge, never at peace. But this? This was where Narvin truly belonged.

“Hello, Narvin,” she said, accepting the fact that he wouldn’t notice her unless she said something.

Narvin jumped and looked up at her, blinking rapidly. "Oh, Leela. Sorry, I… How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know that you need a break."

Narvin stood slowly, stretching out his arms. "You can say that again." He sighed and rubbed his eyes, approaching her with a kind of gratefulness in his expression that Leela didn’t miss. There had been a time, years ago, when he wouldn’t have come within several feet of her if he could help it, when his face would have never been so soft. Now here he was, a completely different man than the Narvin that Leela had first known.

“So, what can I do for you, Leela?”

Before Leela could respond, rapid footsteps approached and Leela turned quickly, her instincts kicking in. However, it was just Ace, a wide grin on her face as she came to an abrupt stop just beside Leela.

"Ha! Gotcha!” she exclaimed.

Narvin took a small step back from Leela; he obviously tried to make it unobtrusive, but Leela noticed all the same. “Ace,” Narvin said flatly, obviously not in the mood for whatever tricks Ace had up her sleeve, “what in Rassilon’s name are you talking about?”

Ace’s grin only widened and her gaze flickered between Leela and Narvin. Leela didn’t like being on the receiving end of that face; it meant trouble.

“I’d look up if I were you.”

Leela glanced up and saw some kind of plant hanging from the top of the doorframe. "Leaves?" Leela asked. “I have not seen those there before.”

“It’s a Christmas decoration,” Ace offered cheerily.

Narvin crossed his arms. “May I remind you, Ace, that we don’t have Christmas on Gallifrey?”

“No,” she said, the word long and drawn out, “but I figured the Tower could use some Christmas cheer.” Her smile turned smug. “Especially some mistletoe.”

“What is that?” Leela asked. “I have never heard of it.”

“And where did you get it?” Narvin asked. “How did it get on my door?”

“Not important. What _is_ important is a little Earth tradition we have regarding mistletoe."

Leela frowned. She couldn’t see anything significant about the little bundle of green leaves with red berries. “It is a sacred plant?"

“No, but it is special. People put it up around Christmas. And when you stand under the mistletoe with someone, you have to kiss them.”

“What?" Narvin took an even bigger step back away from the door. "That's ridiculous!”

Leela frowned. “That is a silly tradition.” But as she looked at Narvin, a laugh burst from her mouth. His cheeks were a light shade of red and he was obviously trying very hard not to meet her gaze. Leela shook her head. It wasn’t like they were actually bound to kiss under this mistletoe.

“Why should two people kiss simply because they stand under a plant?” Leela continued. “A kiss should never be shared without love."

Ace barked a laugh. "That's not exactly how things work on Earth." She stretched onto her toes, pulled the mistletoe down, and sighed. "Well, time for Plan B..." she muttered as she walked off.

Leela was curious as to what "Plan B" was, but Narvin was still standing in his office, looking like he was trying very hard not to look extremely uncomfortable. Leela chuckled.

“Come, Narvin, you know that Ace likes to joke.”

He frowned. "I don't find it funny."

“Because you would never kiss a savage?"

“No! I- I mean…” He shuffled his feet. “I just think it’s a completely useless tradition.”

Leela found his obvious embarrassment quite funny, but somehow endearing, too. The blustering, complaining old time lord was afraid of a little joke.

And somehow, something inside Leela sank as she felt like she’d missed an opportunity with the mistletoe.

“I agree. You do not need a plant in order to kiss someone.”

Narvin was still not looking at her, which was really rather frustrating as Leela tried to figure out if maybe he was flustered for the same reason she felt a little sad.

Narvin cleared his throat. “Yes, quite,” he muttered.

Leela dared to take a step in his direction. He finally looked up at her, revealing desperation in his eyes; a desperation that Leela was beginning to think that she’d been feeling herself for quite a long time.

“Narvin?” Leela asked, still a few steps away.

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her question.

“May I kiss you?”

His eyes grew wider than Leela had ever seen them before. “I… I thought you said the mistletoe was silly.”

“It is.” She shrugged. “There is no mistletoe here. There is nothing saying we must kiss; that is why I am asking you.”

Narvin swallowed. “And why would you want to…” He trailed off, his eyes shifting around the room like they couldn’t find a safe spot to rest.

“Because I like the way you are focused when you are working.”

He looked a little surprised at that explanation.

“I like the way you smile,” Leela continued, “and I even like your frown, the one that makes a tiny wrinkle right between your eyebrows. There are many things that I love about you, Narvin.”

Silence.

Narvin didn’t seem to know what to say. It felt like an eternity before he mustered a meagre, “Oh.”

Somehow, the word deflated everything within Leela all at once. She’d thought…

“It was a silly idea,” she acceded softly.

Narvin frowned—that frown that she loved, just a little confused but mostly worried. “No, you misunderstand me. I simply…” He licked his lips and met her eyes again. “I didn’t know that you- that you felt- I don’t know how to say…”

Hope grew within Leela again. She took another step. “I thought it was a simple question. You answer either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ For someone like you, Narvin, with your many words, it seems like an easy task.”

 _“Yes,”_ he blurted out the moment she finished speaking, though he looked rather startled at the word, like he hadn’t even said it himself.

“You are sure?” Leela asked.

“Yes,” he said, the word seeming to come out a little easier this time. “I’m sure.” But his entire body tensed up, his fists clenched at his sides, and Leela thought he might have even been holding his breath.

Leela chuckled. “You do not seem sure, Narvin.” She closed the distance between them and reached for his hands. His fingers relaxed into hers and the panic in his eyes faded a little. “I do not wish to force you.”

Suddenly, it was like a switch flicked within him. Fear was replaced with steely determination. Narvin leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, so brief that Leela barely felt it.

“Maybe mistletoe isn’t such a bad idea,” Narvin said with a shaky attempt at a laugh.

Leela rubbed her thumbs across his knuckles and felt a grin tug at her lips. “Perhaps it is not.”


End file.
